Piazza del Duomo

Not only is Florence’s Duomo the city’s most iconic landmark, it’s also one of Italy’s ‘Big Three’ (with Pisa’s Leaning Tower and Rome’s Colosseum). Its famous red-tiled dome, graceful bell tower and breathtaking pink, white and green marble facade have the wow factor in spades.

Begun in 1296 by Sienese architect Arnolfo di Cambio, the cathedral took almost 150 years to complete. Its neo-Gothic facade was designed in the 19th century by architect Emilio de Fabris to replace the uncompleted original, torn down in the 16th century. The oldest and most clearly Gothic part of the cathedral is its south flank, pierced by Porta dei Canonici (Canons’ Door), a mid-14th-century High Gothic creation (you enter here to climb up inside the dome).

Wander around the trio of apses, designed as flowers on a stem that is the nave of the church and so reflecting its proper name – Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (St Mary of the Flower).

After the visually tumultuous facade, the sparse decoration of the cathedral’s vast interior, 155m long and 90m wide, is surprising. It is also unexpectedly secular in places (a reflection of the sizeable chunk of the cathedral funded by the comune rather than the church).

Scaling the 463 steep stone steps up to the cathedral dome – an incredible feat of engineering – is a must. No supporting frame was used in its construction (1420–36); it’s actually two concentric domes built from red brick to designs by Filippo Brunelleschi. The climb rewards you with an unforgettable 360-degree panorama of one of Europe’s most beautiful cities. Allow at least half an hour up here.